Blue Flames

Chapter 10

The wound on my cheek would definitely scar. I poked it with my finger. The skin was pink and tender. But it felt better than it looked in the bathroom mirror. I didn't mind scars, and this one was small enough. What I didn't like about them was that sometimes they attract unwanted attention.

I didn't want to leave the shower in my bathroom. The body jets felt so good against my battered body, I wanted to melt right there.

But I got out, dried myself and got dressed. A large t-shirt and stretchy jeans. I desperately needed more clothes, the sweater and t-shirt I had been wearing in the morning were bloody and shredded, so there went another set of clothing.

I put on my combat boots after cleaning them a little, strapped on my thigh sheath, both my arm sheaths and my knife belt for my long blade. Maybe I was a little too armed for a simple meeting, and my weapons were in plain sight, but I was taking no chances. Being surrounded by people who could throw me against walls with nothing but a thought put me at a great disadvantage, and being armed put me slightly at ease.

Irene and I opened our doors simultaneously. She raised both brows at my weapons but said nothing.

"Where did you get that?"

She was looking at the scar on the lower part of my bicep. The t-shirt didn't cover it all up. Oh, well.

"A fight," I replied, leaving it at that. The scar was ugly and jagged, it stretched from my shoulder almost to my elbow.

I had it for eleven years, and the skin had stretched as I grew up and changed color around the rugged line.

But it was expected. I hadn't done a good job in stitching myself up. Besides, the silver wound had been relatively deep, so I was lucky I even had my arm.

Considering the fact that I had dug a grave with that arm, I'd say I was pretty darn lucky.

Amanda was waiting in the living room, as promised. But she wasn't alone. Sitting on the white couch next to her was a witch with rich, warm brown skin and black hair in cornrow braids that fell down her shoulders to her waist. Her left ear had at least eight piercings, her nose and one eyebrow were also pierced.

A small white gold hoop decorated one nostrils, and a shiny stud sat on the arch of her left brow. Her full lips were painted a deep burgundy and her eyes a stunning hazel green that watched Irene and I with a calm intensity so at odds with her wild appearance.

The vampire and the witch stood up, "girls, this is Kat. She's also one of Arthur's seconds."

Aha, so Amanda and Harvey were two of Arthur's seconds. The people who worked directly under the Five were usually quite high up the food chain in the immortal world. They were in direct contact with the Five, and had a certain influence on them.

"A pleasure," her husky voice was as cool as she was. She watched Irene and I with a cautious gaze. I could already tell she and Amanda were like night and day. Amanda was quite exuberant. Even now, she clapped her hand and put her arms around my shoulders and Irene's.

"Come on, then. The boys are waiting upstairs," She led us up the staircase. The wooden railing, its texture still a bit rough, felt good under my hand. The staircase ended in a wide, well lit hallway. Amanda walked ahead of us to the end of it.

The hair on the back of my neck pricked. I glanced over my shoulder at Kat. Her brows were pulled down in a frown, hazel eyes squinted at me. I looked ahead of me, palming the knife on my thigh sheath.

She was a witch, so even if she attacked, it wouldn't be anything physical. Witches relied a lot on their magic. Witches' ability to mold their magical energy into weapons was unrivaled among other immortal races.